The Dead Spy
by Witchwood
Summary: What would you do if you accidentally killed Tails? (Completed.)
1. Chapter 1

The Dead Spy  
By Witchwood  
Chapter One  
  
  
"You know, Sonic, if this works, Robotnick is going to be vulnerable to any other attacks we dish out." Sally commented as she zipped up Sonic's backpack.  
"I know this is going to work!" Sonic replied. "Nothing can go wrong." He picked up his backpack and put it on.  
"Just don't get yourself killed. If you do, I won't have anyone to show off my new lingerie to tonight. Maybe except for Antoine, but that's up to you."  
"Don't even joke about that." Sally opened the door to let Sonic out. But he only stood in front of her. "I'll be back before you know it." Sonic grabbed her hands and gave her a kiss.  
"Save it for when you get back. And I meant what I said."  
"So did I."  
"I have plans for you tonight. I don't want to worry about you while you're gone."  
"Don't even think about that. I've never let you down before, and I don't plan on starting."  
"Especially tonight."  
"The sooner I leave, the sooner I get back."  
"Then hurry up before I change my mind."  
"I wouldn't want that to happen. I'll be back soon." Sonic closed his hood and walked away. Sally closed the door and began to prepare for that evening.  
As Sonic quietly jogged out of Knothole, Tails saw him from his bedroom window and stopped him.  
"Sonic! Where are you going?" Tails asked as he paused his flight simulator video game on his computer and jumped onto his bed to lean out of the window.  
"What are you doing up? You should be asleep." Sonic whispered as he took his hood down.  
"I'm not tired." Tails said as he tried to cover a yawn.  
"You've been playing that game ever since I got it for you last week! If I didn't know better, I'd say you have some sort of fascination for flying, or something." Tails didn't get it.  
"What are you doing up if it's so late then?"  
"I'm just dropping off a Christmas present for our round friend in Robotropolis."  
"In April?" Tails asked, thinking Sonic was serious.  
"Just get to bed, I'll be right back."  
"I am in bed."  
"I know you're in bed, just get to sleep."  
"Why aren't you in bed?"  
Sonic smiled. "Oh, I will be later. That's for sure." Sonic started walking away.  
"Hey, Sonic?" Tails called again.  
"I'm leaving…" Sonic waved his hand. Tails rested his chin on the windowsill as he noticed that Sonic was wearing the backpack that he usually stowed him away in on their trips to the big city. Sonic never really used it for anything else, and Tails wondered why he wasn't going with him.  
Tails flew out of his hut and began following him. He kept his distance as he sailed about a hundred feet behind, hoping Sonic wouldn't notice him. He was surprised that Sonic wasn't running as fast as he normally did. He usually digs a path in the dirt he runs on. Tails figured he was just being quiet so he wouldn't wake everyone up on his way out.  
It wasn't too long before they both reached the city. Sonic still didn't know Tails was trailing behind him and Tails knew he would be in real trouble if Sonic found out he was with him, but he wanted to know what he was doing with the backpack. Sonic knew that he was probably being watched, but not by Tails. He quietly raced across the streets as Tails followed directly above him on the rooftops. When Sonic stopped by one of the buildings, Tails landed on the edge of the wall on the roof to see where he was going. Sonic walked in through an unlocked door. Tails was curious as to what he wanted to do in there, but instead of following Sonic through the door, he made his was inside through a ventilation duct. After a moment of navigating through the dark maze, Tails finally found where Sonic was. He quietly looked through the grating in the wall and watched Sonic set the backpack down next to a stack of computers.  
Tails heard a few quiet beeps coming from the bag as Sonic did something to it. After another few quiet beeps, Sonic slipped the backpack behind the stack of computers and moved some of them over to completely cover it. After the backpack was completely concealed, Sonic closed his hood and quietly ran out of the room.  
When Tails knew that Sonic was gone, he pushed the vent open and climbed out. While dusting himself off, he walked over to the stack of computers and moved them out of the way. And by the weight of the backpack, Tails realized why Sonic wasn't running as fast as he usually did.  
Tails opened the flap on the top and saw that the content of the backpack was covered in duct tape. Rather than taking the box out of the backpack, he took the backpack out from around the box.  
But as soon as he saw the red digital display counting down on the side, he realized that he should have taken Sonic's advice and stayed in bed.  
  
  
Across the city in the old castle, Snively was just falling asleep as he was shaken out of his bed by an explosion. Only a few things fell off the walls, but everything was still in tact. While he looked around the room to gather his senses, Dr. Robotnick flashed onto his computer screen.  
"Snively! Get down to block 15-B and investigate that explosion! I'll be there shortly."  
"Right away, sir." He replied with trained obedience as he grabbed his gun and flashlight.  
  
  
Bots and floodlights already covered the site by the time he arrived.  
"What happened here?" Snively asked.  
"An explosion, Sir." One of the bots replied.  
"I know that, you idiot! What caused it?"  
"We are currently retrieving the surveillance video to determine the cause." Snively crossed his arms and looked at the leveled building.  
"Why couldn't those rodents do this during the day when I'm awake?"  
"Strategic timing, Sir." One of the other bots replied.  
"I wasn't asking you!"  
"Sir, life signs detected." The robot droned as it pointed its gun at the ground. Snively walked over and kicked away a piece of debris to reveal furry fingers covered in blood.  
"Not for long." Snively pulled out his gun and aimed it at Tails.  
"I think it would be best if you put that gun away." Robotnick said as he approached from behind. "He may prove to be of some value to us." Snively turned the safety back on and put his gun back into its holster. "See to it that he gets cleaned up and receives proper medical attention."  
  
  
When Robotnick received the surveillance video from the explosion, he watched it and realized how much value it was to him and how much power it gave him over his enemy. After he finished watching it, he began to modify the timeline and made it look like Tails was still in the room when the bomb went off. He smiled an evil smile as he broadcasted the video to all known channels used by the Freedom Fighters and went to bed with expectations of a happy morning.  
  
  
Sonic returned home with expectations of a happy evening, but he stopped in his tracks when he saw Sally curled up in her robe in the corner of her room and her computer displaying a still frame of a distorted video image. He ran to her and looked at her wet face.  
"Tails is dead! He followed you to Robotropolis and was killed by the explosion!" Sonic fell on his tail and leaned up against the wall mumbling something as he grabbed his head.  
  
  
Morning arrived bringing painful sadness among the residence of Knothole Village. Everyone there was now aware of the occurrence of the previous evening and was sick at the thought of anything happening to such a young child, especially being killed by one of their own. Nobody blamed Sonic but himself. He saw him just minutes before the explosion.  
Bunnie, Antoine and Uncle Chuck were in his room going through some of his things, remembering the times when he was still around. Rotor was going over the video that was sent to them the night of the explosion to see if there was anything else they could learn about his death that they didn't already know, but was just as hard to watch no matter how many times they saw it. Almost everybody mourned his death together, but Sonic was alone as he stood on the small bridge over the stream just outside the village. He looked at his distorted reflection in the slowly moving water below wishing he could see Tails next to him.  
  
  
But during this time, Tails was in a hospital room in Robotropolis just beginning to regain consciousness. His eyes opened halfway while all he could see was a fuzzy spinning room. He knew he was lying down, but it was no reassurance to him that he wasn't going to fall down. His dizziness made his head hurt, and his sore head just made him dizzier. Either way, he didn't notice the restraints on his body and the tubes running down his throat.  
He lost consciousness again as Robotnick and Snively stood outside the force field door to his room.  
"I really think that if you aren't going to kill him, you should at least consider roboticizing him." Snively said.  
"That sounds like a good idea. But first, let's give you a concussion and throw you into that machine and see how you turn out." Snively began to sweat.  
"I see your point, sir." He said in a shaky voice.  
"I don't like him being here as much as you do. But when it comes to war, prisoners can become hostages."  
"What do you plan on getting from the Freedom Fighters for his safe return?"  
"I don't know, but I highly doubt he's going to have a very safe return."  
  
  
Sonic continued to gaze into the water below him as he thought about Tails' death. Sonic felt so empty without him around. He meant everything to him. Tails was like a brother to him, and sometimes felt like a son to him, but they were never anything less than best friends. He wiped his eyes as he picked up the gun from the railing of the bridge and placed a single bullet into its chamber.  
Everything seemed quiet to Sonic now, not like it mattered to him. But he wondered if a person reaches a certain awareness of his surroundings when one is about to take his own life.  
Whether it did or didn't, he held the gun up to his temple and pulled the hammer back with this thumb. Tears of sadness and despair blurred his vision as he looked straight down. He didn't bother wiping them away; it wasn't going to really matter in a moment anyway, as with many other things.  
"Sonic!" Sally yelled in horror! Sonic jumped back and dropped the gun, which fired on impact of the ground and struck her in the lower part of her right forearm.  
Sonic stood speechless, as did Sally. She looked at her bloody arm and back at Sonic with sudden anger.  
"How can you be so weak and selfish?" Sally asked as she kept a tight fist. Sonic dared not answer. "Your problems are nothing compared to mine or anybody else's in this world! And if you think that killing yourself is going to take them away, it's just going to make ours worse!" Sally kept a perfect, but angry composure as she looked at Sonic. "All my life I've wanted to follow in my father's footsteps and make this world a better place to live, but I've had nothing but setbacks. And although what happened to Tails was another major setback, it was only an accident. But now that I know your true integrity…" Sally said as she began to feel weak and loose her balance from the loss of blood. "Maybe you should just… do us all a favor, and…" She finally fell to her knees and lost focus on Sonic and her thoughts.  
Sonic ran to her and caught her before she fell completely to the ground.  
"Don't say that! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" He picked her up and headed back to the village.  
During the short trip that seemed to take forever, Sally only looked at his face. And when he looked back at her, he felt like her stare was just amplifying his fear and regrets. He tried looking away, but his love for her forced him to keep looking back at her to make sure she was still conscious.  
When they returned, Sonic ran straight into Bookshire's hut and placed her on his bed.  
"Book! She's been shot!" Bookshire got up from his computer desk and grabbed some bandages on his way across the room.  
"Where?"  
"Her arm! She's loosing a lot of blood!" Sonic then turned around and ran away.  
"Sonic! Where are you going!" Bookshire yelled, and realized that he wasn't coming back. "Princess, what happened?" Sally didn't answer. "Can you hear me?"  
"Yes."  
"What happened?"  
"I don't want to talk about it." Bookshire was at a loss for words, but only stopped momentarily before he continued to treat her wounds.  
  
  
Sonic still had her blood over parts of his body as he cried on a random tree deep in the forest. Sally may have saved his life, but made him feel much worse than before. His only wish was for all of this to never have happened, but was unknowingly going to come true.  
  
  
Although he didn't remember it, Tails felt a little better than he did before when he opened his eyes again. His vision was still blurry, but he noticed that tubes running into his mouth were doing his breathing for him. When he tried to breathe on his own, he felt a sharp intense pain in his chest.  
"I don't like him any more than you do, sir. But I really don't see why you have to let him go without an anesthetic." Snively said as they both watched Tails from a console in another part of the building.  
"Do you not approve of my judgment?" Robotnick asked as he continued to watch the fox.  
"I have no problem with your judgment, sir. But with all due respect, you did say you wanted him to 'receive proper medical attention'." Robotnick turned his chair towards Snively and gave him a very cold look.  
"I have every intension of giving him an anesthetic, but you fail to realize that I'm recording the video for the possibility of ransom!"  
"I see."  
"Besides, he did sustain some moderate head injuries. I doubt he would remember any of this anyway."  
  
  
Tails began to sweat heavily as the pain in his chest and body continued to torture him. Even if he weren't held down by restraints, his injuries wouldn't let him up anyway. He had a cast over his left leg and his left arm was mostly covered in cloth bandages but also had a cast over his wrist.  
Snively finally entered the room with a hypodermic needle and a small glass bottle. Tails only noticed his presence when he pulled the foot-long plastic tube out of his throat followed by the slight urge to vomit.  
"Oh, look at that! You can breathe on your own." Snively said as he filled the needle with the contents of the bottle.  
Tails took a couple of slow, deep breaths and tried to calm down now that he could breathe at his own pace. Snively carelessly slammed the needle in his arm and pushed down with his thumb. But the pain was nothing compared to what he was already experiencing.  
"So how's it feel to be a prisoner?" Tails looked at his face and took another deep breath.  
"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." He said before he turned his head and fell asleep.  
  
  
Nightfall came to the village of Knothole again, only to add another day of sorrow to the Freedom Fighters. Sonic snuck back into the village and to the outside of Bookshire's hut. It was quiet inside, so it seemed that they could have been gone or just asleep. Sonic stood in the shadows for another few minutes to make sure that his presence was still unknown to everyone and to see if the princess was alone.  
He was relieved to see Bookshire in Rotor's hut about a hundred feet away running the video through their computers to try to obtain any more information than they already had, so he snuck in and saw Sally laying quietly in the darkness.  
As he silently approached her, he saw a cast on her arm. And at the sight of it, his heart began to hurt again just like it did that morning. The fur around her eyes looked like they had been wet a few hours before like she had cried herself to sleep. He slowly and lightly touched the side of her face and felt that she was very warm, like she had a fever.  
She opened her eyes and took a moment to see who was there, but when she realized that it was Sonic, she took her plaster fist and slugged him in the face.  
Sonic fell to the ground with a bloody nose and a cut lip. Sally sat up and turned on the small light next to her cot.  
"What the hell are you doing here!" Sally yelled.  
"I deserved that." Sonic said as he tried to keep his blood from making a mess everywhere. Sally grabbed one of Bookshire's canes and broke it over his head. Sonic was very disorientated as he stood up and tried to keep Sally from attacking him. But Sally was just as dizzy as he was from exerting as much energy as she did just after waking up, especially with a fever she acquired due to the stress and the loss of blood during the day.  
She dropped what was left of the cane and fell into Sonic's arms started crying.  
"Why did he have to die!" Sally cried. "He was too young! He never understood war!"  
"I'm so sorry I did this to you."  
"It's not your fault."  
"Then why do I blame myself?"  
"I don't blame you."  
"Thank you, that means so much to me!" Sonic embraced Sally with a loving hug and didn't let go. "Your forgiveness is all I ask."  
"I forgive you…" Sally quietly cried.  
  
  
Tails woke again to the faint ambient humming of various pieces of equipment in the room. He reached to rub his eyes, but stopped as he saw the cast on his left wrist. He tried to gauge the extent of the injury by gently moving his fingers, but was struck by a sharp, intense pain in his entire hand. At that moment, he realized that every bone in his hand must have been broken.  
While he rested his broken hand on his chest, he used the other to rub his eyes.  
"Can you hear me?" A robotic voice said. Tails moved his hand away from his face and looked to the left side of the bed. "Try not to move. Do you know where you are?" It was a very slender and simple docbot responding to his increased blood pressure.  
"No." Tails said in a raspy voice.  
"Do you know what happened to you?" Tails lay silent as he tried to recall why he was there. "Can you move your toes?"  
Tails slowly moved all his toes, hoping he wouldn't get the same reaction from his hand, but his right foot was just sore.  
"Are you having any difficulties breathing?"  
"A little." The docbot produced an oxygen mask and placed it over his muzzle, instantly making Tails feel more relaxed.  
"Do you have any allergies or are on any medications?"  
"I don't think so."  
"You have sustained many serious injuries. You have a moderate concussion, six broken bones in your left hand, a fractured thumb, two broken fingers and another break in your forearm. Three of your lower-left ribs have been broken and one of them punctured the lower portion of your lung. There was a compound fracture three inches below your left knee leaving nine stitches down the left side of your leg. Numerous pieces of concrete, glass and wood were removed from your body as a result of the explosion. So far, none of your injuries seem to be life threatening, but your vital signs will be monitored during most of your recovery. You have also been given a substantial amount of oxygloben to replace blood lost from your injuries. It is an artificial blood substitute that accommodates your body's need for oxygen, but lacks the ability to fight infections and doesn't allow your body to heal as quickly from injuries so you will be placed on antibiotics until your normal blood supply can return to normal."  
"How did all this happen?"  
"I have no information about the incident."  
  
  
Sonic was still asleep in a chair next to Sally when she woke up. His head was resting on her left hand. She took her other hand and placed it on his shoulder waking him up.  
"Did I wake you?" Bookshire asked from the kitchen. Neither of them answered. "I'm sorry if I did. Breakfast is ready if you want." Sonic sat up in his chair and rubbed his eyes. "Now maybe you guys can tell me what happened." Sonic was about to confess to her injury, but Sally spoke up first.  
"Sonic and I were gathering weapons for a surprise assault on Robotropolis, but I dropped one of the guns and it discharged." Sonic turned his head and gave her a look of a million thanks.  
"Why did you leave then, Sonic?"  
"I guess he just couldn't stand anyone seeing him cry." Those words brought tears to both of their eyes.  
"Well, that explains a lot. But then where did you get those cuts on your face, and why is my cane broken?"  
"Um… I guess when I came in last night… I… tripped over it and hit your desk. I'll get you a new cane if you want." Sally gave the same look of a million thanks to Sonic for taking the blame for his injuries.  
"Well, I hope both of you are okay. How are you feeling, princess?"  
"It really hurts when I try to move it."  
"Then don't move it." Bookshire brought the two a bowl of hot oatmeal, toast and orange juice. "Can I get both of you anything? Butter? Coffee? Morphine?"  
"No, thank you." Sally answered.  
"You know, it's a good thing you didn't loose any more blood than you did. Bunnie is the only one in the village with your blood type. With her low real body weight, she wasn't able to give you a lot of blood. And speaking of which, I'd better go check on her. I'll be back in a few minutes." Bookshire grabbed another one of his canes and left his hut.  
"I can't thank you enough, for both your forgiveness and understanding." Sally turned her head and looked at her broken arm. "Is there something wrong?"  
"I've never told anyone about this…" Sally began, "when my father was cast into the Void, I thought he was dead and I was never going to see him again. I was so close to him, he was my only family. I became so lonely and depressed, and my life felt so empty without him. I stopped eating, and I got sick from it for a couple of days. I actually tried to kill myself by overdosing… on grape cough syrup."  
"What?" Sonic laughed. "How do you overdose on grape cough syrup?"  
"Don't laugh," Sally also smiled a little. "I was only seven. And a whole bottle was a lot for my size. I was found on the bathroom floor with purple lips and the empty cough syrup bottle lying by my hand. I was told I was out cold for about nineteen hours. I couldn't remember much of it since the cough syrup consisted mostly of alcohol. I couldn't get the purple stain around from my mouth off for about three days. But I was actually serious… If that was as poisonous as I thought it was, I would be dead." They both sat silent for a moment. "Dead…" Sally quietly said as her eyes began to water again. "Just like Tails."  
  
  
"Can I sit up?" Tails asked.  
"The bed position control is located just to your right." Tails grabbed the control and pushed the button to sit up. The bed slowly bent to allow him to sit up, and also discover most of the locations of the rest of his injuries.  
When he was at about a forty-five degree angle, he began to feel very light-headed. His ears rang, his vision became distorted and his head pounded with every heartbeat.  
A few seconds later, he found himself lying flat again with the docbot standing by his bed.  
"Perhaps it would be best if you didn't do that for a while." And the docbot rolled out of the room.  
He really didn't want to lay flat, so he only lifted the bed only a little. He didn't feel as lightheaded as before, but he did begin to get a headache. Although it was uncomfortable, it wasn't as uncomfortable as laying flat.  
"Good morning, young man." Robotnick said as he walked inside with Snively. "How are you feeling today?" He pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed.  
"Sick." Tails replied.  
"How unfortunate. But it's a good thing you're still alive. Can you tell me if you remember what happened?"  
"I really don't think I can remember anything."  
"Do you even know your name?"  
"I… no, I don't remember. It's really hard to think straight right now."  
"That's too bad. I was hoping you could help me find out about the person who did this to you."  
"I'm sorry, I don't think I can help. I don't know what happened."  
"I want to show you some pictures of someone." Robotnick displayed various pictures of Sonic destroying robots and equipment.  
"I've heard of people coloring their hair before, but this porcupine needs to learn how to control himself."  
"We were able to retrieve the surveillance video of the explosion."  
"The what?" Tails asked. Snively pushed a button on the video console on the wall and played the video that was given to the Freedom Fighters. Tails watched with uninterrupted curiosity as he watched himself enter the room right after the hedgehog left. But was stunned and terrified as he saw himself in the violent explosion. He turned his head and closed his eyes, but couldn't get the vision of flying debris out of his head.  
"I'm sorry I had to show that to you. But you must understand, we need your help in capturing him. Ever since your father fired him from his job, this porcupine has always wanted to get back at him, and you're his primary target."  
"What am I going to do?"  
"For now, nothing." Robotnick walked towards the door. "He probably thinks you're dead." 


	2. Chapter 2

The Dead Spy  
By Witchwood  
Chapter Two  
  
"Guys! Come here!" Rotor shouted from outside Bookshire's hut. "I've got something you need to see!" Sonic and Sally both followed Rotor to his hut. When they got inside, Rotor sat down in front of his computer and pulled up the video. "Sonic, how long did you set the timer for on the bomb?"  
"A minute."  
"Exactly sixty seconds?"  
"Yeah. Why?"  
"Watch this." Rotor played the video from when the Sonic started the timer. And on the bottom of the screen was a timer Rotor added. It counted down from sixty seconds as everyone watched what they had watched a hundred times before.  
And finally, at seven seconds left, the video stopped.  
"He's still alive." Sally whispered. Sonic turned around and was stopped by Sally before he could make his way to Robotropolis. "I'm coming with you!" Sonic held her fist with both hands and looked into her watery eyes.  
"I am extremely grateful for you wanting to come with me, but I couldn't bear to see anything happen to you."  
"How do you think I feel! It's not easy waiting here, doing nothing and wondering if I'm ever going to see you again!"  
"I know, it's hard for me to ask you to do this, but this is something I really have to do on my own." Sally tried to hold her tears back, but gave up when Sonic wrapped his arms around her. "Don't do this to me," Sonic said as he held her tight. "I want you to know that I'm coming right back home with Tails."  
"I just don't want you to get hurt."  
"I won't. I promise." Sonic let go of Sally and ran off into the forest.  
  
Robotnick asked Snively to stay with Tails to take more blood tests since oxygloben requires a lot of monitoring for the first forty-eight hours of being used. He used the thickest needle he could find, but was disappointed when Tails didn't react as expected due to the painkillers he was given just a few hours ago.  
"Can I sit up?" Tails asked.  
"I don't know. Can you?" Snively replied as he placed the vile of blood into a machine.  
"I guess so." Tails grabbed onto the railing on the side of his bed and pulled himself up. His head didn't hurt as much this time, but he was still pretty sore and groggy. He rubbed his ribs as he took a couple of deep breaths, looking over his body and noticing the rest of the bandages that were wrapped over most of whatever wasn't already covered in plaster. After he looked at his tail, he turned his head and saw another one lying just on the opposite side. He grabbed one in each hand and lightly pulled at them taking a few seconds to confirm that they were actually permanently attached to him.  
"What are you doing?" Snively asked.  
"I think I've got two tails." Snively looked at him oddly as Tails started to tie them together in a knot.  
"I see." Snively opened a drawer and began to rummage around. "You know, I don't think that's supposed to be there."  
"Really?"  
"Someone thought it would be funny to reprogram the docbots to add extra tails to people during operations." He pulled out a large surgical blade. "I'd be more than happy to fix it for you." Snively said as he approached Tails with a cold grin. Tails held his tails in his arms tightly.  
"Um, that's okay. I like them fine where they are right now."  
"I wish I could let you keep them, but there was a kid just like you who had the same thing done to him."  
"What happened to him?"  
"He wanted to keep his extra tail, too. So we let him, but he developed a very serious infection and died within a week."  
"Really?" Tails asked, holding tighter as Snively walked closer.  
"Absolutely! We wouldn't want that to happen to you, do we? I believe your docbot also told you about one of the problems with the artificial blood your using, regarding infections." Snively grabbed the gas mask by the head of his bed and turned it on. "I'll even make sure you won't feel a thing." He tried to hold the mask up to Tails' face, but he kept pushing Snively away.  
"Can I wait a few days? Just to see if it doesn't get infected?"  
"Snively, report to me when you finish those tests." Robotnick called over the intercom, keeping a polite tone so he wouldn't give Tails a bad impression. "We have some unfinished business to attend to."  
Snively paused. He looked Tails in the eyes as the gas mask quietly hissed away. Finally, after what seemed like eternity, he calmly turned it off, sat the blade on the counter and left the room.  
Tails began to breathe again after realizing he had been holding his breath before Snively left. His eyes filled with tears as he slowly laid back down and quietly cried into his pillow.  
  
Sonic arrived just outside of the castle where the bomb had gone off. Most of the debris has been cleared away, but the blast was still very evident. He didn't stop for very long since there were a few swatbots in the general area, and he wanted to rescue Tails as soon as possible.  
When he and everyone else usually raid the city, they plan on leaving with something damaged, destroyed or stolen. He did his best not to draw too much attention to himself this time since he didn't know how he was going to leave without the luxury of such distractions.  
Entering the castle was easy this time since the building he blew up controlled all of the motion detectors outside the castle. Bots were used as a replacement until a more suitable replacement can be utilized. Sonic found it easiest to dodge the bots, and even easier to dodge their gunfire. And with this ability, he entered the castle unnoticed.  
Normally, Sonic knew what he was looking for. But this time, he didn't know where to begin looking. Was Tails in the dungeon? Or working in the steel mill as a bot?  
  
Or worse, in the morgue?  
  
Tails could be anywhere. He could possibly have escaped. But regardless of where he is, Sonic's newfound hope of where he isn't is enough to make him do anything to get him back.  
This castle was about a quarter of a mile wide by a third of a mile deep and one eighth of a mile tall. He is able to reach any point of this structure in less than thirty seconds, but in order for him to be able to do all this without putting Tails in any more danger is to go slow. Unfortunately for Sonic, this is one of his weak points. It's his basic instinct to go fast. Everything he does is at a hundred miles per hour. Whenever he tries to go slow, he goes nuts. This is something he would have to learn how to control today if he wants to see Tails alive again.  
  
About an hour after Tails almost lost his name, he needed to get up and stretch. It was going to be hard with his broken leg and other injuries. But he needed to stand. His bed was too high for him to jump off of, but luckily there was a stepping stool at the foot of his bed. He slid over and slowly lowered himself to the stool and then to the floor.  
Tails also noticed at the foot of his bed was a small closet with crutches and braces of various sizes. This was definitely going to make it easier for him to get around. He grabbed the smallest crutch there, but it was still too big for him. He then noticed that it was adjustable. He fumbled with the pin at the bottom for a few minutes and finally got it to the height that he wanted.  
Unfortunately using two crutches was going to be impossible because his left forearm was also broken, so he had to do his best with just one. After walking across the room, he needed to sit down because his leg began to feel sore. He pulled up a chair that was sitting in front of a computer terminal and relieved his legs of the pressure of standing. He leaned his new crutch up by the keyboard, bumping up against the mouse taking the computer out of its power management mode.  
  
"Snively, what is the estimated time of repair for the facility that was destroyed?" Robotnick asked from his giant mechanical chair.  
"Actually, the repairs for the sensor facility have been canceled."  
"I assume there is a good reason for this." Robotnick said in a calm, but an I'm-going-to-kill-you tone.  
"New sensors were under development long before this attack. The time it would take for the old one to be repaired would be much longer than the estimated time of completion of the new system. I ordered all possible efforts in completing the new equipment as soon as I found this out."  
"Good. But you haven't answered my question."  
"Um…" Snively squealed. "What was the question?"  
"When will it be completed!!!"  
"It will be… I mean, it should be done in um, about uh… a hundred and thirty one days." Robotnick picked Snively up by his nose and held him up to his face, but he was saved by the bell. Network activity triggered an alarm on a console just next to them. Tails was using the computer in his room, and he was being watched.  
Robotnick shifted his interest away from Snively to Tails.  
"Well, well, well. Our little guest seems to be trying to communicate with someone. Perhaps with our friends in Knothole."  
"I knew that little brat didn't have amnesia!" Snively laughed.  
"He's a smart kid. But not smart enough. I can see everything he's doing from there… but unfortunately… he's not trying to access any outbound nodes."  
"What's he doing then?"  
"It looks like he's looking through our internal network."  
"He's spying on us!"  
"He hasn't really opened anything yet."  
"Maybe he knows we're watching him."  
"If he did, why would he be doing this in the first place?" Robotnick sat silent. "I say we should kill him." He still sat motionless. "Sir, he's not the innocent kid he makes himself out to be! Just look at what he's doing!" Robotnick finally stood up and quickly made his way back to Tails' room. Snively followed with his loaded gun.  
Snively was going to get his wish. He was finally going to kill Tails. He followed Robotnick at his fast pace, but only stayed behind him. His adrenaline and anticipation of seeing Tails dead was making it hard for him to keep from annoying Robotnick.  
Halfway there, Snively could only imagine what he could possibly have on the screen as hard evidence of this suicidal act. The suspense was killing him! Could it be detailed maps of the city? Could it be schematics of the defense matrix outside the castle? Maybe he's planting a trojan virus so his friends in Knothole can access their network from outside.  
When Snively saw Tails sitting at the computer, he held his gun to his head, but dropped his jaw as his expectations of an execution was instantly disintegrated by a mere flight simulator.  
"I'm sorry! Did I break something?" Tails asked, panicked by the gun in his face.  
"No, young man." Robotnick grabbed the gun from Snively's hand and tossed it to the other side of the room. "He just doesn't like people getting a higher score than him." Robotnick picked Snively up and threw him out of the room. "Go and make yourself useful and report to me when you're finished."  
"I'm sorry if I wasn't supposed to use that. I was just looking for some games…"  
"Don't worry about that. Think nothing of it."  
"Really?"  
"Yes. Come with me. I'd like to talk to you for a few minutes." Robotnick rolled the chair Tails was in away from the computer. Tails grabbed his crutch as he was wheeled out of the room.  
Robotnick slowly pushed Tails down the hall in the computer chair and began asking him some questions.  
"Tell me, do you still not recall anything about your past?"  
"I think I remember Snively."  
"Oh?"  
"He's scary."  
"How so?"  
"Well, you saw him hold a gun to my face! Wouldn't you say that's scary?"  
"Yeah."  
"Has he always been like that?"  
"I'm afraid so."  
"Why do you keep him around then?"  
"Oh, because he has so many uses. But enough about him, let's talk about you."  
"Okay. But there's not much I can talk about. I don't know who I am."  
"True. But I'd like to ask you a few questions anyway, to try to help restore your memory, if you don't mind."  
"No, I don't mind."  
"What made you want to play that particular game? I'm sure there were many others for you to choose from."  
"I guess I like flying."  
"Well, that's a start."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Flying, I'm sure you probably flew airplanes or something."  
"I'm too young."  
"You know, I think you're right. But you really look like you knew what you were doing with that game."  
"I've probably played it before."  
"That also could be true. Now what about your tails?"  
"What about them?"  
"Do you use them for anything special?"  
"I tied them in a knot."  
"No, I mean do you remember anything about your tails like you might have remembered about flying?"  
"I thought you knew about my extra tail."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah, Snively said he had to remove it since it's not supposed to be there."  
"Remember how we were saying that Snively was crazy and all?"  
"Yeah."  
"Don't believe what he said about your tails."  
"I've always had both of them?"  
"Yes. As far as I know."  
"That's kinda cool."  
"Do you think you would have any kind of special use for an extra tail?"  
"I can probably swim faster."  
"Perhaps. Do you think you can fly with them?"  
"Fly? No way. I couldn't flap them fast enough."  
"Do you think you can spin them?"  
"I don't know. They're kinda sore."  
"Oh, I don't want you to hurt yourself. I was just curious. Besides, how does the rest of you feel?"  
"It still hurts."  
"You know, it's going to take a long to heal. Especially your leg."  
"I know."  
"Would you consider something that might speed up your recovery time?"  
"Like what?"  
"How would you like to have metal bones?"  
"Um, I don't know."  
"It's not as bad as it sounds. You'd be completely healed within just a few seconds."  
"I'm just a kid. Wouldn't I stop growing?"  
"No, that can be adjusted as needed."  
"Oh. I guess that sounds ok. I do like that idea, but I'd like to wait until I can remember anything first."  
"Fair enough."  
  
Snively was in the middle of working on some new repair time estimates when he finally realized that he didn't have his gun. He made his way back to the room Tails was in and was relieved to see that Robotnick was nowhere to be found. He entered the room and found that his gun was no longer there.  
Suddenly, the lights went out and the door slammed closed, making the room completely pitch black.  
"Hello?" Snively called. He bent over to grab a flashlight he saw a moment before. When he turned it on, Sonic's face was the first thing he saw. He squealed like a little baby as he dropped the flashlight.  
The room remained dimly lit as the flashlight rested on the floor. Sonic held Snively's gun up to his head.  
"Where's Tails?" Sonic calmly asked.  
"I don't know what you're talking about." Snively replied as he began to sweat.  
"Like hell you don't." Sonic walked up closer to him, making Snively trip and fall.  
"No! I swear! I haven't seen him!" Snively tried backing away to the door, but bumped into the desk that the computer was sitting on, taking it of its power management mode. The screen faded on to the same flight simulator Sonic had given Tails earlier that week. When Sonic looked back down at Snively, he set the gun down and grabbed the surgical blade that was left on the table. "Um, well, now that you mention it, I think I did see him around here somewhere."  
Sonic didn't stop approaching him. He remained silent as Snively kept trying to slip out of the room.  
"He's probably outside getting some fresh air, or playing with some computers…" Sonic grabbed Snively's hand and stood on his shoulder. "What are you doing?" The razor sharp blade slid effortlessly under Snively's thumbnail as he screamed as loud as he can.  
Sonic still said nothing as Snively's thumbnail landed on the floor. He let go of his hand as Snively laid screaming and grabbing his thumb. Sonic only watched as he kept his silent rage from getting himself captured by a bot. He was going to kill him soon if he didn't tell him exactly where Tails was. Even if he truly didn't know, Sonic felt he deserved to die anyway. But there was a small demand for torture first.  
  
"You know, young man, I have something you might like to see." Robotnick said as he continued to push the chair down a hallway.  
"What is it?" Robotnick opened a door leading to a large room. It was filled with many different machines and computer consoles. It also contained the dreaded roboticizer.  
"This is my laboratory. I've made many things in here, including that docbot that operated on you."  
"Cool." They entered into the room on the second floor on a wide catwalk that circled the room and led to the top of the roboticizer, which Tails couldn't take his eyes off of. Robotnick noticed the fox's fearful stare from the time he set foot in the room.  
"I see you're interested in this machine over here."  
"Well, it's just big."  
"Do you know what it is?"  
"No."  
"It's what makes your bones turn into metal."  
"Oh."  
"You look scared. Is there something for you to be afraid of?"  
"I don't think so."  
"Good, because there isn't any reason to be. I've used it on a lot of people and none of them complained about anything after they used it. Well, all except for one. She never finished the process. But they're all able to perform tasks that would normally take ten people to do, now that they've been healed. Are you sure you want to wait before you use it?"  
"Uh, yeah." Tails said in a shaky voice. "I'm sure."  
"That's too bad. You're missing out on a wonderful opportunity."  
  
Sonic left the room with blood coating the bottom of his shoes, quietly continuing his search through the castle for Tails. He was now equipped with a gun, but didn't think he was going to need it since this gun alone was no match for his worst enemy.  
After another few minutes of walking through the castle, inspecting all of the rooms for signs of Tails, Sonic came across one of the primary control rooms. He was very familiar with this place. This is where he and Robotnick met many times. The wall was lined with fifty displays, which almost all of them were powered down because of the attack. But one of them was still on. He walked up to it and browsed through what was available. He saw some general random files lying around, but there was one file that stood out. It was a large video file, and it was the last thing accessed from that terminal. He opened it up and was stunned when he saw Tails in tremendous pain. His heart pounded in his chest faster than it had ever beaten in his life.  
He couldn't stand to watch anymore, but he had to see if Tails was still living by the end of the video. He fell to the ground with his head in his hands as he listened to Tails gasping and choking as Sonic sat helpless in front of the display.  
The video wasn't very long, but it was long enough for him. He sat silent as he cried, listening to his racing heartbeat pound in his head as tears fell from his eyes. It was a major relief knowing that Tails was still alive, but there was another possibility that he may be dead again.  
He wasn't going to let that happen. Sonic wiped his eyes one last time and stood up to face the monitor again. Tails looked so helpless and in so much misery in the still frame. But he wasn't going to give up this time.  
The lights in the room dimmed slightly as the sound of power generators can be heard off in the distance.  
"There's only one thing that takes that much power…"  
  
"See? There isn't much to be afraid of." Robotnick said as he powered on the roboticizer. "It just lights up and makes noise. Why don't you step inside? Just to see what it's like. I promise I won't do anything."  
"Robotnick!" Sonic yelled as he entered the room from the ground level. Tails stood up and looked to see the blue hedgehog standing at the other end of the room. "Tails!" Tails hid behind Robotnick, peeking around his leg. "What have you done to him!"  
"Me? You blew him up!"  
"Why did you have to come here?" Tails whispered, panicking at Sonic's presence.  
"Give him back, Robotnick." Sonic yelled, determined to rescue Tails.  
"Or what? Or you'll kill me? Or blow up another one of your friends?" Sonic drew his gun. He knew it was useless, but did it anyway. "Oh, what are you going to do? Shoot me?" Robotnick reached behind him and grabbed Tails by the throat with his robotic hand, holding his hand-cannon of a gun to the fox's head. "Tell me, do you think you're really going to win?" Tails grabbed onto his arm, kicking and pulling as he tried to breathe. "He almost died before, and he may just die right now! But you can keep that from happening. Just step up to the machine, it's all ready to go." Sonic only stood with his gun drawn, aiming it at Robotnick. "I don't think he can last like this much longer. I can feel him getting weaker and weaker as I speak."  
Without notice, Robotnick heard the sound of a Benelli XM1014 12-gauge shotgun cocking behind him. Before he could react, his arm was blown off by Princess Sally who was standing right behind him. He and Tails fell from the second level to the ground below as Sally also fell back from the recoil of the large gun.  
As Robotnick landed, he pointed his gun back up at the catwalk. But before he could fire, the gun was destroyed in his hand, along with most of his fingers by Sonic's gunfire.  
Sally looked over the edge as she held her bruised shoulder with her broken hand, watching Robotnick run out of the room. "Sonic! Get Tails!" Sonic ran across the room and found Tails bleeding and unconscious. He pried Robotnick's dead metal fingers from around his neck and picked him up.  
"What are you doing here!" Sonic yelled as he ran up to get Sally.  
"Less talk, more running!" She grabbed onto him and Sonic carried Sally and Tails out of the room.  
Sonic ran through the hallways, but stopped when he saw blood pouring out of the bottom of the cast on Tails' leg.  
"I can't take him like this!" Sally cried, "He's going to bleed to death before we get him back home!" Sonic entered the room where he had his encounter with Snively, but only found a pool of blood with no body. "What the hell happened here?" Sally asked as she helped Sonic place Tails on the bed.  
"I had some fun with Snotley."  
"Did you kill him?"  
"I thought I did. Forget about it, we gotta help Tails." Sally tended to his bloody face while Sonic tried to get his leg to stop bleeding. The cast was already cracked along the side as a result of the fall, but Sonic stopped when he saw what looked like circuitry in the broken plaster. "What the hell?"  
"What?"  
"Look!" Sally looked at the cast and was just as puzzled as Sonic. She grabbed Nichole from her boot and opened it up.  
"Nichole, can you identify the electronics in this cast?"  
"Scanning…" Tails began to move.  
"He's waking up!" Sally yelled. "Tails! Don't move!" He tried to get up, but he was too weak to even lift his arms. He began to groan, but was now becoming more aware of his surroundings.  
"Go away!" Tails said with much effort.  
"Tails, don't talk!"  
"He's going to find me!"  
"Scanning complete. Electronic components within the cast cannot be identified because of excessive damage, but similar electronics have been identified as radio transmitters in six different parts of the body."  
"Oh my God! Tracking devices!" Sally cried. "Nichole, can you disable them?"  
"Negative."  
"Can you jam them?"  
"Negative. Each device is using a frequency that is randomly changing fifty times per second. My current transmitter is unable to replicate such a pattern."  
"Are they woven into his bandages or something?"  
"Three of them are just under his skin, one is located in his chest cavity, one is located just above his stomach and one is located next to his kidney."  
"We can't take him back to Knothole!" Sonic said as he finally pulled the broken cast off.  
"We can't leave him here either, Sonic!" Tails was beginning to regain his strength, but was going to make his serious injuries even worse if he continued to struggle.  
"Tails! Please don't move! Sonic, do something!" Sonic began looking around in the shelves and cabinets and soon found some surgical blades.   
"No! You are NOT cutting him open!" Sally protested. Sonic took a scalpel out of the drawer and approached Tails. "Sonic! Don't you dare do this!" Sally placed herself between them and grabbed his arm.  
"Move."  
"You're going to kill him!"  
"Please, Sally. Move."  
"No! Please, don't!" Tails began to cry as he regained consciousness. "He's waking up! Don't do it!" Sally was crying as tried to keep Sonic away from Tails, and Sonic began to cry as well. He took the blade and threw it into the wall in a fit of rage. He continued to look around the room for some medicine and came across some syrettes of morphine.  
"Go away! Leave me here!" Tails began to scream from the pain of his injuries.  
"Don't worry, Tails. You're going to be okay." Sonic stuck the needle in Tails' leg and emptied the morphine into his bloodstream. Tails continued to cry after a few seconds, so Sonic injected him with the last of the drug, hoping that this was all he was going to need. Tails began to calm down again and finally lost consciousness. 


	3. Chapter 3

The Dead Spy  
By Witchwood  
Chapter Three  
  
It was deathly quiet as Tails began to wake up again. He remained still as he tried to see where he was, but the room he was in was still unfamiliar to him. They were made of clay or mud, and the ceiling was no different. It wasn't very well lit, and with no windows, it was hard to know where he really was. There was enough light for him to see that he was in yet another hospital room, but not enough light to make up for his blurred vision.  
Before trying to get up, he assessed his injuries and found a new bandage on the side of his face from when he fell from the second level of the catwalk to the hard cement floor. But it wasn't enough to stop him from trying to escape.  
Tails tried to sit up, but was weak from the medication that was given to him earlier that day. But he knew he had to get out. Although he knew Sonic might still be around, he knew that wherever he was, he wasn't safe, and this place was no different. He was able to sit up without too much pain, but will probably regret it later when the painkillers wear off.  
He was on a cot, so getting on his feet wasn't too much of a problem. But walking across the room was. Luckily, his new cast was well made and gave him a bit more mobility than his last one. As he finally made it to the door, he poked his head out and saw that the curved hallway was not level, but went uphill at a slight angle. The floor and walls were the same color as everything else and realized that he might not be above ground.  
So instinctually, he began to go uphill. He was relieved to find nobody nearby. His hearing made up for his poor vision, but with the curving hallways, he wouldn't havr been able to see that far anyway. Tails began to approach another door. He heard someone talking inside, but didn't recognize the voice. But after a couple of seconds, he heard a familiar voice.  
He quietly approached the door as he continued to listen to what was being said, but he still couldn't hear much. His vision improved a little within the last few minutes and could see inside the room. He saw someone standing and facing away from him, so he was in no immediate danger of being seen. The other person in the room was sitting down and having her arm treated. It was Princess Sally.  
The doctor was blocking her line of sight, so he could pass without them noticing. Tails quickly limped to the other side of the doorway and stopped to catch his breath.  
He was lucky this time. They didn't notice. But this place was so unfamiliar to him, how long would his luck last? He was becoming more aware of his senses and surroundings as his blood pressure elevated from the adrenaline beginning to rush through his body.  
Tails continued uphill at a slow pace. He kept his balance by holding on to the wall, which also was useful to lean against when he ran short of breath. His body began to feel stiff as he continued to move around. He knew that he is probably just injuring himself further, but anything was better than staying here.  
He heard footsteps in the distance. The only thing he could think of was to hide in the room behind the door he was standing next to. The door wasn't locked, and it wasn't lit, so he was able to hide without anyone seeing him. Tails watched through the narrow opening as the figure passed by.  
It was Sonic! He looked so worried by the quick glimpse Tails was able to get through the small opening. But as quickly as he arrived, he was gone. He knew that Sonic was going to notice that he was gone. So he needed to get out as quickly as he could.  
"You're probably already aware of this, Princess, but with the injuries he sustained during the explosion, and his fall this morning, there may be a slight possibility of brain damage." Sally's doctor said.  
"Please don't say that."  
"I'm sorry. I just wanted to make sure you were aware of any potential problems."  
"I'm fully aware of his injuries. I just don't want to discuss it."  
"Hey, Sal. You okay?" Sonic asked as he entered the room.  
"No. You?"  
"No. Is Tails okay?"  
"I'm sure he is. But he still needs another operation to remove two more of the tracking devices."  
"Why couldn't they be removed when they got the others out?"  
"They were too close to vital organs." The doctor began. "We're waiting on some more surgical instruments better suited for delicate conditions. They should be here by tonight."  
Sonic sat down next to Sally.  
"Why was he so afraid of me?" Sonic asked.  
"I don't know." Sally held his hand and rested her head on his shoulder.  
"It could be amnesia." The doctor said.  
"Could we please be alone?" Sally asked, beginning to get angry. The doctor walked out of the room and closed the door.  
Sally broke down in tears in Sonic's arms.  
"He's going to be alright." Sonic whispered as he caressed the side of her face.  
"Why him!" Sally cried.  
"It doesn't matter now, he's going to be okay."  
"He should have been in bed. I was going to tuck him in that night."  
"It wasn't your fault, it wasn't anybody's fault. If you blame yourself, it'll just hurt more than it already does."  
"I know, but there are so many things we could have done to prevent it."  
"I've thought about that, too. But we can't change the past."  
There was a knock at the door as the doctor leaned inside.  
"Did any of you move Tails?" He asked.  
"No. Why, where is he?" Sally asked.  
"He's not in his room anymore." Sonic and Sally ran out to where Tails was resting only to find nothing.  
"Did he wake up?" Sally asked.  
"If he did, he couldn't be far." Sonic said as he ran out to look for Tails. Sally and the doctor followed.  
Sonic ran throughout the hallways as Sally and the doctor began looking through all of the rooms. When Sonic came across an open door where a family was residing, he asked if they had seen anyone pass by. They told him that nobody came by except for him just a few minutes ago.  
He began to run the other way to see if Tails went down the lower portion of the hallways, but at about a hundred feet away, a dead end forced him to go back and check with Sally.  
Every room that she came across was unoccupied. The same went with the doctor. When Sonic arrived to help them look, she had already reached the area where the family was that Sonic talked to earlier.  
Tails was relieved that Sally didn't see him hiding behind the cabinet when she hastily poked her head in. He knew that everybody was looking for him now. There was no way out of the room he was in. He began to look around for a hiding place or another way out, but after looking through a cabinet, he realized that he was in a weapons room.  
Tails stood and looked at the racks of laser riffles charging in the racks before him. To his left was a collection of handguns with lights indicating that they're fully charged. He slowly picked one up as the warmth of the battery gave him an uneasy feeling.  
"Why does it have to come to this?" Tails asked himself. He inspected the gun, turned the safety off and walked back to the door. When he heard that nobody was around, he slowly left the room and continued to make his way up the hallway.  
It only took a minute for someone to find him, and it turned out to be Sonic. They both stood silent when they finally met. Neither of them knew what to say or do. Tails wasn't holding the gun to him, so Sonic wasn't as worried as he could have been. But he was still powerless in this situation.  
"If it means anything to you," Sonic started to say. "It's good to see you again."  
"It's good to see you, too, Sonic." Tails replied.  
"You remember me?" Tails only nodded his head, but didn't move or say anything else. "Then why are you afraid of me?"  
"It's not you who I'm afraid of." Sonic then began to approach Tails, but stopped when Tails pointed the gun at him.  
"Then why do I get the feeling you're not in the mood to talk?"  
"I can't stay here." Tails said as he began to back away.  
"Why not? Do you know where you are?"  
"I can't explain. I just need to go."  
"I don't understand."  
"Can you trust me then?"  
"Do I have a choice?"  
"No."  
"Is it the tracking devices?" Tails stopped. "We found the one in your cast. Then we found more inside of you."  
"Were you able to take them out?"  
"Not yet…"  
"Then I can't stay. You're in danger if you're with me. So is Aunt Sally."  
"Nobody's going to find you. We're in the Wolf Clan's caves, over a quarter of a mile underground. The tracking devices can't transmit through all of this rock. You're safe if you're down here. If you go up to the surface, then you'll be found."  
"So… he's not coming?"  
"No." Tails dropped the gun and Sonic ran to him. He held him tight as they began to cry.  
"I'm sorry I followed you that night." Tails said as he hugged Sonic.  
"Don't worry, you're back with us now."  
"They tried to cut one of my tails off, and they tried to roboticize me!"  
"You don't have to talk about that now. Let's get you back in bed." Sonic picked Tails up and began walking back to his hospital room. Sally finally met up with them and took Tails into her arms.  
"I'm so glad you're back. I was so worried about you!"  
"I missed you, Aunt Sally." Tails cried.  
"Are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere?" Tails nodded his head. "You're going to be fine, we'll make it all better." Sonic and Sally continued back to the hospital room where they met back up with the doctor.  
"Princess, I just got a message from Lupe that she's just returned with the equipment we needed to remove the other two devices."  
"Thank you." Sally laid Tails back on his cot and kneeled next to him. "Does it hurt a lot?" Sally asked.  
"Uh huh."  
"Do you want something for it?"  
"Yeah."  
"Doctor? Can you bring him something for his pain?"  
"Sure, I'll be right back."  
"I can't believe you're still with us. We thought you were gone."  
"Do you remember how many seconds were left on the timer before you ran?"  
"About seven. I got out of there as quick as I could. The next thing I remember after that was waking up in a bed with tubes and needles going inside of me."  
"Do you remember everything?" Sonic asked.  
"Yeah. I just pretended I didn't so they wouldn't try to make me tell him where Knothole was."  
"How did you know about the tracking devices?"  
"They were warm, and they hurt a lot. I only guessed that they were tracking devices, since I knew you were going to try to rescue me."  
"That's why you hid behind Robotnick when you saw me."  
"You pretended to have amnesia the entire time?" Sally asked in surprise.  
"At first, I couldn't remember much, but when I did, I realized that I would probably have been safer if they didn't know."  
"Hey, I saw that game you were playing over there. Did they just let you do anything you wanted?"  
"Kinda. I almost got caught. I opened a remote administration port on a static IP address on their network so we can have full access from Knothole."  
"Are you serious? That's wonderful!" Sally yelled.  
"What happened to your arm?" Sally smiled and grabbed her cast.   
"It was a little accident."  
"Are you okay?"  
"Yes. I'm fine."  
Lupe finally arrived just when they expected her to. She entered the room with a small leather bag and a dark gray cloak. Apparently it was raining at the surface because she was completely wet.  
"It looks like you're doing better than we expected, young man." Lupe happily commented as she hung up her cloak.  
"I feel a lot better."  
"Good. After tonight, you'll finally be able to go home."  
"Cool. I'm beginning to feel homesick."  
"That's too bad. Does that mean you want your operation now, or do you want to wait until later?"  
"No. I want to do it now."  
"Okay. Sonic, can you please pick him up and follow me?"  
Sonic carefully picked Tails up in his arms and left the room with Sally following behind.  
A minute later, the doctor returned with a needle and small bottle, wondering where everyone went.  
  
Twenty-four hours later, everyone was back in Knothole. Sonic was sitting under an oak tree just along the outside of the village. Sally came over and sat next to him to enjoy the sunset together.  
"How are you doing, Sonic?" Sally asked.  
"Good. You?"  
"Good. I just got done talking with Lupe. She said that they found something pretty interesting in Tails' blood."  
"Really?"  
"It appears to be almost completely synthetic."  
"What? Where did it come from?"  
"I asked Tails, he said that Robotnick gave him a blood substitute called oxygloben. She and a few others are analyzing it and might be able to reproduce it within the next month."  
"That means we won't ever have a blood shortage if anyone gets hurt."  
"Right. It looks like Tails was able to make the most use of being in the wrong place at the right time. Especially with their network."  
"Speaking of being in the wrong place at the right time, I thought I told you to stay here when I went to find him."  
"Sorry. I just had to come."  
"Do you know how you can make it up to me?"  
"How?"  
"You can show me that new lingerie you got the other day?"  
"Well… I suppose."  
"Where's Tails?"  
"He's with Bunnie, starting some physical therapy."  
"Physical therapy?" Sonic picked Sally up in his arms. "I'll show you physical therapy!" Sonic ran off with Sally to pick up where they left off just a few nights ago. 


End file.
